And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
Parallel translations
- WEB The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’
- BSB The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’
- NKJV And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’
- NASB But the foolish virgins said to the prudent ones, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’
- NLT Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The foolish beg oil from the wise because their lamps are going out. Borrowed readiness fails at the decisive moment.
Overview
The foolish discover too late that they lack what they need and cannot produce it themselves. Their request reveals that true spiritual readiness cannot be transferred from another at the final hour. Each person must be personally prepared to meet Christ. The verse exposes the emptiness of a faith that has no inward reality.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Prov 13:9The light of the righteous rejoiceth: but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.
- Luke 12:35Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;
- Heb 4:1Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
- Rev 3:9Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.
- Matt 13:20–21But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
- Prov 20:20Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.
- Prov 4:18–19But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
- Job 21:17How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and how oft cometh their destruction upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his anger.
- Luke 8:18Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.
- Luke 16:24And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
- Job 8:13–14So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite’s hope shall perish:
- Job 18:5Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine.
- Matt 3:9And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
- Acts 8:24Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the LORD for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 25:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.